Whenever I’m in Santa Barbara, I love stopping here for their delicious pad Thai! It’s so flavorful and the steak was very tender and tasty.It’ll always be on my list to come back to! :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brandon Yu
Came here with a group of 6 people and some how each one of us left disappointed. We all ordered different dishes (Thai boat noodles, Hangover noodles, and Pad thai) and each dish suffered from the same problem. Horrible look and not enough flavor (this is coming from a Thai person) to go deeper in: the Hangover noodles had no color, too hard noodles, no flavor and dry chicken... the Pad thai tasted like straight cafeteria food from highschool... and the Thai boat noodle broth were thick, flavorless the noodles were all somehow cut into inch strips. To add insult to injury, each dish was $20 for a to go order. I would NOT come back but WOULD reccomend Your Choice Thai. It's called Empty Bowl but I did not leave my bowl empty :(
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Lex Coen
Wow very special place don’t miss the Khao Soi, a traditional Northern Thai dish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Gifford Hwa
The wait for food togo during prime dinner hours is around 30min for just two noodles because it draws such a large crowd. The titles used for each dish was very promising. Double thumbs up for the marketing.Aside from the long wait however, the Tom Yum Noodle and Long Tail Boat Noodle that we ordered was not as well made as the names as the dishes.Prospective eaters should temper their expectations. It's not going to be as authentic as several places like Thai Town in Hollywood. I am not sure how the noodles from Three Monkeys in the same dining hall, but we did order proteins from them and I have a much more positive experience for that.I could not recommend this place. Sorry.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Mike Shalhoub
My favorite place to get noodles in Santa Barbara.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeff Atlas
Always great food and service. Best Thai noodles food in Santa
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Austin Im
We got the khao soi, hangover noodles, and a thai iced tea today.It was pretty busy today and the service wasn't very good. When we received the order they had a bit of a mixup and had to ask for one of the items we received back. Also the seating is a bit difficult since it's the public market so if you aren't sitting at the bar, you have to get it to-go.Anyway, the thai iced tea was the first thing we tried and it was great! Better than most places, I would say. Next, we received our main items. Because most people ordered the khao soi, I ordered it as well and it was to expectation and was very good. I would just say that the chicken was a bit dry so I was a bit surprised seeing other reviews saying theirs was moist and melting in their mouth. My boyfriend ordered the hangover noodles and the noodles weren't prepared properly and were stuck together and the sauce was a bit oily, although the taste wasn't bad. The chicken in this was also pretty hard. He ended up adding the rest to my curry because the curry was great. It was definitely on the expensive side thoughKhao soi: 9/10Thai iced tea: 10/10Hangover noodles: 6/10
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Lara Kesselring
Took 35 mins for the hangover noodles to be ready and they were nicely seasoned but really oily.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
Suzanne Bingham
Best Food anywhere!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bangkok Street Noodle, Pad Thai, Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Fernando Orozco
I love everything about this place.Vegetarian options: Tons of variety for everyone here
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Long Tail Boat Noodle, Drunken Noodles
Terrible service, terrible food terrible employees very
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Don Huynh
Spring rolls too cold, but the sauce was good. I did not like the beef soup since the Broth too dark, and beef smell too strong. Staffs are friendly. Seating at the bar and being inside the open market felt great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Imaan
Showed up on a Wednesday night with no reservations and no plan, and was able to sit at the counter with a 5 minute wait! The noodles and sauces are quite good. We got the weekly special for Wednesday, which is Pad See Ew. Also got Khao Soi with chicken. Both were quite good!!! I particular like the Pad See Ew. Both came out quickly and fun to people-watch in the area, as well as watch the commotion in the kitchen. We left full and happy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Hong Mai
I really love to eat at Empty bowl for many years . But today I order 5 Bangkok noodle to go home around 3:30 pm and now( after 4 hours)I open all the noodle and soup in the same cup . Omg I throw away my $100 .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lolo O Tab Penn
Enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching the chefs make this delicious exotic dishes. Great food with great service and ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Pancit Noodles, Summer Rolls, Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Whenever I’m in Santa Barbara, I love stopping here for their delicious pad Thai! It’s so flavorful and the steak was very tender and tasty.It’ll always be on my list to come back to! :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here with a group of 6 people and some how each one of us left disappointed. We all ordered different dishes (Thai boat noodles, Hangover noodles, and Pad thai) and each dish suffered from the same problem. Horrible look and not enough flavor (this is coming from a Thai person) to go deeper in: the Hangover noodles had no color, too hard noodles, no flavor and dry chicken... the Pad thai tasted like straight cafeteria food from highschool... and the Thai boat noodle broth were thick, flavorless the noodles were all somehow cut into inch strips. To add insult to injury, each dish was $20 for a to go order. I would NOT come back but WOULD reccomend Your Choice Thai. It's called Empty Bowl but I did not leave my bowl empty :(
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Wow very special place don’t miss the Khao Soi, a traditional Northern Thai dish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
The wait for food togo during prime dinner hours is around 30min for just two noodles because it draws such a large crowd. The titles used for each dish was very promising. Double thumbs up for the marketing.Aside from the long wait however, the Tom Yum Noodle and Long Tail Boat Noodle that we ordered was not as well made as the names as the dishes.Prospective eaters should temper their expectations. It's not going to be as authentic as several places like Thai Town in Hollywood. I am not sure how the noodles from Three Monkeys in the same dining hall, but we did order proteins from them and I have a much more positive experience for that.I could not recommend this place. Sorry.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
My favorite place to get noodles in Santa Barbara.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Always great food and service. Best Thai noodles food in Santa
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We got the khao soi, hangover noodles, and a thai iced tea today.It was pretty busy today and the service wasn't very good. When we received the order they had a bit of a mixup and had to ask for one of the items we received back. Also the seating is a bit difficult since it's the public market so if you aren't sitting at the bar, you have to get it to-go.Anyway, the thai iced tea was the first thing we tried and it was great! Better than most places, I would say. Next, we received our main items. Because most people ordered the khao soi, I ordered it as well and it was to expectation and was very good. I would just say that the chicken was a bit dry so I was a bit surprised seeing other reviews saying theirs was moist and melting in their mouth. My boyfriend ordered the hangover noodles and the noodles weren't prepared properly and were stuck together and the sauce was a bit oily, although the taste wasn't bad. The chicken in this was also pretty hard. He ended up adding the rest to my curry because the curry was great. It was definitely on the expensive side thoughKhao soi: 9/10Thai iced tea: 10/10Hangover noodles: 6/10
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
Took 35 mins for the hangover noodles to be ready and they were nicely seasoned but really oily.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
Best Food anywhere!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bangkok Street Noodle, Pad Thai, Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
I love everything about this place.Vegetarian options: Tons of variety for everyone here
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Long Tail Boat Noodle, Drunken Noodles
Restaurantji Recommends
Terrible service, terrible food terrible employees very
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Spring rolls too cold, but the sauce was good. I did not like the beef soup since the Broth too dark, and beef smell too strong. Staffs are friendly. Seating at the bar and being inside the open market felt great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Showed up on a Wednesday night with no reservations and no plan, and was able to sit at the counter with a 5 minute wait! The noodles and sauces are quite good. We got the weekly special for Wednesday, which is Pad See Ew. Also got Khao Soi with chicken. Both were quite good!!! I particular like the Pad See Ew. Both came out quickly and fun to people-watch in the area, as well as watch the commotion in the kitchen. We left full and happy!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi
I really love to eat at Empty bowl for many years . But today I order 5 Bangkok noodle to go home around 3:30 pm and now( after 4 hours)I open all the noodle and soup in the same cup . Omg I throw away my $100 .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching the chefs make this delicious exotic dishes. Great food with great service and ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Pancit Noodles, Summer Rolls, Northern Thailand Curry Noodle Khao Soi